Posts Tagged ‘yoga’

I learned very slowly how to begin nurturing myself with new inner messages. I listened to music that was nurturing, I repeated affirmations, I read books on self love, I collected statues and pictures and other items that represented being nurtured so that I would look at them and remember to say kind things to myself. It was not easy to be kind to myself, I have to be honest. Since I didn’t learn what it felt like to be nurtured, I didn’t know how to nurture myself. I also didn’t know what it felt like to have nurturing inner messages running through my head. There are many authors who describe having an inner mentor, or an inner coach, etc. I love Cheri Huber’s writings about this. When I began the process of becoming aware of my inner voice and of questioning what this voice was telling me, I didn’t think of this process as creating an inner advocate, or an inner protector, or whatever one chooses to call it. I was simply thinking in terms of changing my thoughts into more positive thoughts. And then, suddenly, I was getting ready to meditate and I looked at a statue I have on my altar. It is a statue of a woman holding a young child in a rocking chair all covered in a quilt. It felt wonderful thinking of me being held like this. I felt so safe and protected and nurtured. This led me to think of what this woman might be saying to this young child. I imagined something like, “you are safe here in my arms, I will always protect you”, or “I love you so much, you are my love”. This gave me the best feeling. So, I decided to try talking to myself like this. Oh my goodness! It feels so good!! It is like this strong feminine force is with me, honoring me as I am and validating my feelings, listening, helping me with fears or difficult feelings. Oh wow, I can’t tell you how good it feels. It takes practice to remember to do this, but it started to become a habit, and now this voice is what I hear most of the time. It is a practice, like yoga or meditation, or any other practice that a person does that makes them feel good.

Love is who you really are

I want to share this with you because it has been life changing for me. I still had to process all of my emotions as they came up. However, I can tell you that this process goes much smoother when I talk to myself in a kind compassionate voice. It is amazing the feeling I have in my body when I talk to myself in a gentle, loving voice. It truly feels like I am being protected and nurtured and taken care of. I remember when I first started doing this, it felt very awkward even though I wasn’t talking out loud. Just hearing kind words in my head felt funny. This is very normal when we change a pattern that has been with us for many years. The more you practice, the more this new, loving inner voice will become the voice that you hear more often than the old, conditioned hateful voice. I began by saying things that I would want to hear from someone who loves me. I say things that I would love to hear from a nurturing, loving, supportive, accepting person. It feels very reassuring, and helps me feel more empowered. I hope you will begin practicing this today. Begin changing the inner voice of self hate to one of self-love. Love is what you were born with. Love is who you really are.

Self-love

You are welcome here. I am so happy you found me! I hope you feel nurtured here. I started this website with the intention of helping others by sharing my journey through depression. I write about my process and my struggle along the way. My journey taught me to love and accept myself by remembering the truth of who and what I really am.